Nut collecting and retaining socket for power tools

ABSTRACT

A nut socket attachment for a power driven nut fastener. An elongated housing encloses a central drive operably attachable to the output of a powered nut fastener. A wrench socket is rotatably driven by the central drive and includes a hexagonal socket recess in which to collect and retain a received nut. Spring biased to project axially inward of the socket recess, is a peripherally threaded relatively stationary cylindrical nut collecting and retaining member. Rotating the socket initially in a reverse direction draws or collects the received nut onto the retainer inwardly of the socket. Subsequently, rotating the socket in a forward direction forces the collected nut off the retainer outwardly of the socket onto its fastening bolt or stud.

3,789,706 Feb. 5, 1974 NUT COLLECTING AND RETAINING SOCKET FOR POWERTOOLS [75] Inventor: William Stephens Smith, Houston,

- Tex.

[73] Assignee: Dresser Industries, Inc., Dallas, Tex. [22] Filed: June26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 266,171

' [52] US. Cl. 8l/57.29, 81/125 [51] Int. Cl B25b 21/00 [58] Field ofSearch.... 8l/57.29, 57.23, 125, 124.1;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 2,868,053 1/1959 Jorgensenet al. 81/57.23 2,895,360 7/1959 8l/57.23 848,194 3/1907 81/124.12,461,680 2/1949 81/125 916,507 3/1909 8l/57.29 2,636,410 4/1953 Murrill8l/57.29

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,830 l/1913 Great Britain 8l/l24.l

Primary Examiner-.lames L. Jones, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-DanielRubin [5 7] ABSTRACT A nut socket attachment for a power driven nutfastener. An elongated housing encloses a central drive operablyattachable to the output of a powered nut fastener. A wrench socket isrotatably driven by the central drive and includes a hexagonal socketrecess in which to collect and retain a received nut. Spring biased toproject axially inward of the socket recess, is a peripherally threadedrelatively stationary cylindrical nut collecting and retaining member.Rotating the socket initially in a reverse direction draws or collectsthe received nut onto the retainer inwardly of the socket. Subsequently,rotating the socket in a forward direction forces the collected nut offthe retainer outwardly of the socket onto'its fastening bolt or stud.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented 'Feb. 5, 1974 2 Sheets-She et 1Patented Feb. 5, 1914 3,789,706

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illlll Ill I 1 NUT COLLECTING. AND RETAINING SOCKET FORPOWER TOOLS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The field of art to which theinvention pertains includes the art of chucks and sockets.

2. Socket type fastener retainers on either manual-or power tools forhex nut and/or bolt head fasteners are widely known. They function as aconvenience feature in aiding the operator to initiate threaded assemblyonto the fastener counterpart. In some instances these retainers arealso employed to collect a fastened bolt or nut for removal from thework area. Construction of such retainers usually consists of a form ofspring biased detent projecting radially inward of a socket face. Onreceiving the nut or bolt head, the detent forces it radially againstthe opposite socket face in a retaining hold from which it can bewithdrawn after the intended fastening is completed. I

These prior type retainers are considered generally satisfactory formost applications of moderately difficult or hard-to-reach locations.However, in addition to shifting the fastener off the socket center,these prior devices also tend to angularly cock the fastener axiallyoffset of the socket rendering thread starting in remote locations mostdifficult, if not impossible. This has been found to be particularlytrue when employed on power tools. At the same time, these featuressimilarly render initial collection of a fastened nutsomewhat difficult,

if not virtually impossible.

SUMMARY This invention relates to a nut socket attachment for a powerdriven nut fastener such as a nut runner, impact wrench or the like.'lnaccordance herewith, previous difficulties associated with prior detenttype retainers is eliminated by a construction collecting a received nutin perfectly secured coaxial alignment within the socket. This isachieved by use of a rotatable socket adapted for driven attachment tothe output end of a tool with which it is to be used. A peripherallythreaded cylindrical nut retainer for collecting the nut is springbiased to project inwardly of the socket. Initial reverse operation ofthe tool socket against the nut hex causes the nut to thread onto therelatively stationary retainer until bottoming against the hex socketbore. A clutch connected to the retainer isgenera lly effective insecuring the retainer against rotation. On the nut bottoming against thesocket, the clutch enables reverse direction rotation of the retainerconcomitantly with the socket.

I When reaching the latter relation, the tool is approprition inotherwise remote and difficult assembly areas.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel nut socketattachment for a power driven nut fastener.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel nut socketattachment as in the previous object that collects and secures the nutat all times in perfectly coaxial alignment within the socket.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel nutsocket attachment for power tools affording enhanced reliability foreffecting nut thread starting and/or positive collection in remote ordifficult assembly areas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of animpact wrench utilizing the attachment hereof;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the socket attachment inits collected nut retaining relation;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation corresponding to FIG. 2 forthe post-threading fastener assembled relation thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the dog clutch jaw;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the dog clutch jaw;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the stationary clutch jaw; and

FIG. 7 is an end view ofthe stationary clutch jaw.

Referring now to the drawings and initially to FIG. 1, there is shown apneumatic impact wrench 10 of a commercially available type. The wrenchincludes a grip handle 11 for controlling its operating mechanismcontained in a motor housing 12. Mounted onto the output drive end ofthe housing is the attachment in accordance herewith designated 13. Itshould be appreciated that an impact wrench is being referred to as amatter of convenience for purposes of disclosure. It is only one of avariety of nut fastening power tools, with which the attachment hereofcan be utilized and it is therefore not intended as limiting use of theinvention. Likewise attachment 13, that will be described in detailbelow, is an embodiment adapted for right angle hard-toreach fasteningoperations. This is likewise not intended as a limitation since theinvention can be readily adapted otherwise for axially direct operationas will be understood.

Referring now to the additional figures, attachment I3 is comprised of agenerally hollowed housing 17 to accommodate the operating components.For effecting a drive transmitting connection with impact wrench 10, thehousing defines a central bore 18 containing a bevel drive pinion 19rotatably supported by ball bearings 20 and needle bearings 21. A sleeve22 fits snugly within bore 18 for positioning the respective bearingswhile an annular retainer ring 26 snapped into annular housing recess 27secures the foregoing elements against axial pullout. Forming the driveconnection is a female spline 28 internally of pinion 19 that coactswith male spline 29 on the output nose of wrench l0. Securing theattachment to wrench housing 12 in this relation are a plurality ofangularly displaced lock screws 30.

Operably driven by pinion 19 is a bevel gear 35 in mesh therewith andcontained within housing bore 36 axially extending perpendicular to bore18. Gear 35, in turn, is securably mounted onto nut collecting anddriver spindle 37 that includes nut receiving socket 61 outwardlyexposed at its lower terminal end. For mounting and interlocking gear 35onto spindle 37 their mutually engaging surfaces are of a complementaryhexagonal cross-section in which spindle 37 includes a hexagonal flange38 terminating at shoulder 39 that merges with axially extending neck40. Securing the gear axially against shoulder 39 is an annular rctainerring 41 seated in annular slotted recess 42. Spindle 37, in turn, isrotatably supported within bore 36 by means of ball bearings 48 and 49,the latter being secured in position by a retainer plate 50 having aninte- 3 gral plug portion 51 threaded on its exterior 52 for screwedattachment to the otherwise open housing end thereat. A central bore 55in the plate provides an opening through which the spindle extends-Setscrew 53 secures the assembled relation whereas angularly displacedbores 54 (one shown) enables removal of plate 50 by means of aconventional spanner wrench.

For receiving or collecting a nut shown in phantom and designated 60,spindle 37 includes a hex socket 61 of appropriate size to closelyaccommodate the nut and generally defined by sidewalls 62 and top wall(as viewed in the drawings) 63. Coaxially communicating with the socketis a centrally elongated bore 64 opening via a radial shoulder 66 intoan elongated counterbore 65. Contained within bore 64 and normallyseated against shoulder 66 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2, is acylindrical, sectionally-T-shaped nut retainer member 70. In its normalrelation, the lower terminal end of member 70 being threaded at 71,projects or penetrates inwardly of the socket. I j

Retainer member-70 is hexagonally bored at 72 that opens into enlargedlower counterbore 73. Slideably received for rotational interlock withbore 72 is a hexagonal shank 77 of a dog clutch jaw 78 which withstationary clutch jaw 79 comprise a slip clutch 80. While the former jawis rotationally interlocked with the retainer, jaw 79 is securedsandwiched between the upper face of bearing 48 and the inside housingface 87 thereat. A dowel 84 extending through lateral housing aperture85 past face 87 into jaw slot 86 prevents rotation ofjaw 79 for reasonsas will be understood. A coil spring 81 compressed internally betweencounterbore end recess 82 of the retainer and jaw shank bore 83 urgesretainer 70 and clutch jaw 78 away from each other while at the sametime urging the clutch jaws engageably against each other in the mannerbest seen in FIG. 2.

Clutch 80 functions generally to restrain rotation of retainer 70against any drag imposed by rotating spindle 37. However, in oneinstance, i.e., on nut seating against socket wall 63 during initialcollection of the nut, the clutch enables rotation of retainer 70concomitantly with the spindle. For these purposes, the faces of dog jaw78 and stationary jaw 79 have radially interfitting side faces 92 and 93respectively. Each of the side faces is'angularly divided between raisedwidth circumferential segments 94 and 95 and reduced widthcircumferential segments 96 and 97 for complementary cooperativeinterfits therebetween. Interposed between the raised and reducedsegments in one circumferential direction are mutually chamferedshoulders 98 and 99 whereas interposed in the opposite circumferentialdirection are mutually sharp perpendicular shoulders 100 and 101. Thisarrangement enables jaw slippage by compressing spring 81 when jaw 78 isdriven in the reverse direction forcing the chamfered shoulders againsteach other. On the other hand, opposite rotation in a forward directionencounters the sharp shoulders, interlocking the clutch components andretainer 70 against rotation.

In operation, a nut to be collected and/or assembled is received inhexagonal socket 61 until its inward face engages the lower terminal endface of retainer member 70. Wrench is then operated momentarily inreverse whereby reverse rotation of spindle 37' causes the nut to threadonto retainer threads 71. Restraining retainer 70 against reverserotation during this initial threadon are the engaging chamfered clutchshoulders 98 and 99. When the inside nut face bottoms-against socketface 63, the rotational drag imposed on retainer is transmitted to dogclutch 78 forcing it to wedge downward against spring 81 (shown dashedFIG. 2) until slipping past cooperating shoulder 99 of the stationaryjaw. As the latter occurs, a ratcheting noise is produced signaling theoperator that the nut is fully positioned on the retainer. Thereafterthe tool is stopped while the nut, if to be fastened, is positionedagainst its receiving bolt or stud. With wrench 10 now operating in aforward direction, clutch shoulders and 101 instantly engage lockingtheir respective jaw members against any relative rotation. At the sametime, spindle 37 being rotated forwardly, screws nut 60 onto a stud 102shown dashed in FIG. 3. With the nut threadedly advancing onto stud 102,the upper-stud end extends into bore 64 depressingretainer 70 upwardagainst coil spring 81 until the threading operation is completed. Onwithdrawing the tool, the operating components revert to the relation ofFIG. 2.

By the above description there is disclosed a novel nut collectingand/or retaining socket for attachment to power tools whereby retentionand alignment thereof is more reliable and positively secured ascompared to such similar purpose retainers of the prior art. The deviceis relatively simple'and inexpensive to fabricate yet achieves a longsought result in enablin'gpositive nut retention when working in remoteinaccessible assembly areas in which extreme difficultly has beenpreviously encountered.

Since many changes could be made in'the above construction and manyapparently widely differently embodiments of this invention could bemade without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that allmatter contained in the drawings and specification shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A fastener retainer attachment for power tools comprising incombination:

a. a rotatable socket spindle having a socket recess for receiving a nutto'be retained;

b. drive means adapted for drive engaging attachment to the output-driveof a power operated fastener tool with which it is to be utilized andoperable when driven by said tool output for rotating said spindle;

c. a nut retaining member support coaxially of said spindle and havingan end portion projecting axially inwardly of said socket recess;

d. threads on the periphery of said retainer end portion effective whensaid spindle is rotated in a first direction to thread a received nutinwardly of said socket recess and effective when said spindle isrotated in an opposite second direction to thread a received nutoutwardly of said socket recess; and

e. clutch means operable connected to said retaining member for enablingfirst direction rotation of said retainer concomitantly with saidspindle in response to a predetermined inwardly threaded position beingreached by the received nut.

2. A fastener retainer according to claim 1 including 5 spring meansbiasing said retaining member toward projecting inwardly of said socketrecess, said spring means enabling said retaining member to axiallyrecede from said socket recess for accommodating receipt of spring meansbiasing said clutch means toward restraining said retaining memberagainst rotation.

4. A fastener retainer according to claim 3 in which said clutch meanscomprise a first jaw secured against rotation and a second jawrotationally coupled to said retaining member.

5. A fastener retainer according to claim 4 in which the faces of saidjaws have mutually opposite edges adapted to axially overlap andengageable in a rotational direction for effectively restraining saidsecond jaw against rotation.

6. A fastener retainer according to claim 5 in which said jaw edges areaxially biased into overlapping relation by said spring means andinclude a first pair of mutually opposite edges engageable when saidspindle is rotated in said first direction and a second pair of mutuallyopposite edges engageable when said spindle is rotated in said seconddirection.

7. A fastener retainer according to claim 6 in which said first pair ofmutually opposite jaw edges extend at an oblique angle to a planeparallel to the axis of spindle rotation and said second pair ofmutually opposite jaw edges extend substantially parallel to the axis ofspindle rotation.

8. A fastener retainer according to claim 7 in which said predeterminedinward position reached by the received nut comprises engaging againstthe bottom wall of said socket recess.

9. A fastener retainer according to claim 8 in which said second jaw isaxially slideable relative to said retaining member and in which bottomwall engagement by the receivednut imposes a first direction rotationalforce against said second jaw sufficient to wedgedly slide said secondjaw on said first pair of jaw edges in opposition to said spring meanstoward said retaining member and away from said first jaw untilrotationally past the latter.

adapted to be attached.

1. A fastener retainer attachment for power tools comprising incombination: a. a rotatable socket spindle having a socket recess forreceiving a nut to be retained; b. drive means adapted for driveengaging attachment to the output drive of a power operated fastenertool with which it is to be utilized and operable when driven by saidtool output for rotating said spindle; c. a nut retaining member supportcoaxially of said spindle and having an end portion projecting axiallyinwardly of said socket recess; d. threads on the periphery of saidretainer end portion effective when said spindle is rotated in a firstdirection to thread a received nut inwardly of said socket recess andeffective when said spindle is rotated in an opposite second directionto thread a received nut outwardly of said socket recess; and e. clutchmeans operable connected to said retaining member for enabling firstdirection rotation of said retainer concomitantly with said spindle inresponse to a predetermined inwardly threaded position being reached bythe received nut.
 2. A fastener retainer according to claim 1 includingspring means biasing said retaining member toward projecting inwardly ofsaid socket recess, said spring means enabling said retaining member toaxially recede from said socket recess for accommodating receipt of afastener end on which a retained nut is being assembled during saidsecond directional rotation of said spindle.
 3. A fastener retaineraccording to claim 2 including spring means biasing said clutch meanstoward restraining said retaining member against rotation.
 4. A fastenerretainer according to claim 3 in which said clutch means comprise afirst jaw secured against rotation and a second jaw rotationally coupledto said retaining member.
 5. A fastener retainer according to claim 4 inwhich the faces of said jaws have mutually opposite edges adapted toaxially overlap and engageable in a rotational direction for effectivelyrestraining said second jaw against rotation.
 6. A fastener retaineraccording to claim 5 in which said jaw edges are axially biased intooverlapping relation by said spring means and include a first pair ofmutually opposite edges engageable when said spindle is rotated in saidfirst direction and a second pair of mutually opposite edges engageablewhen said spindle is rotated in said second direction.
 7. A fastenerretainer accordiNg to claim 6 in which said first pair of mutuallyopposite jaw edges extend at an oblique angle to a plane parallel to theaxis of spindle rotation and said second pair of mutually opposite jawedges extend substantially parallel to the axis of spindle rotation. 8.A fastener retainer according to claim 7 in which said predeterminedinward position reached by the received nut comprises engaging againstthe bottom wall of said socket recess.
 9. A fastener retainer accordingto claim 8 in which said second jaw is axially slideable relative tosaid retaining member and in which bottom wall engagement by thereceived nut imposes a first direction rotational force against saidsecond jaw sufficient to wedgedly slide said second jaw on said firstpair of jaw edges in opposition to said spring means toward saidretaining member and away from said first jaw until rotationally pastthe latter.
 10. A fastener retainer according to claim 9 in which theaxis of said spindle extends substantially normal to the rotationaloutput axis of a tool on which it is adapted to be attached.